With the region celebrating the 150th anniversary of the discovery of gold this year, Remarkable Theatre is joining in with a mixture of gold-rush history and tall tales in its Queenstown Gardens production Greed, Glamour and Grudges - Tales of Gold. Joe Dodgshun talks to cast member Sam Farr about the pioneering Wakatipu characters he plays.
After performing his parodies in Dunedin, Auckland and Wellington, Thatcher made his way to Queenstown in 1867, says the man playing him, Sam Farr.
"He performed for 10 years out in the Theatre Royale in Arrowtown, writing songs over popular tunes and was apparently very popular at the time," Mr Farr said.
He was introduced as "the great wit, the humorous and undeniably satirical, the one and only - the Inimitable Thatcher!", and accompanied by his wife, singer Madam Vitelli.
Mr Farr says Thatcher's popularity did not stretch to the upper class of Dunedin, whom he regularly ridiculed in performances, much to the delight of the gold-miners.
He formed a small theatre troupe which travelled to entertain the diggers.
Mr Farr plays several roles in the production, including the Prince of Aragon.
A graduate of the Queenstown Resort College, Mr Farr moved to Queenstown from Timaru in 2008 to study and has worked in the Queenstown hotel industry since.
"At school I was really into drama. So I made sure I made some contacts here and have been performing here since 2009 ... and why would you want to leave?"
He said the production was "shaping up well" to be a mix of entertainment, history and drama.
"It's just a good way to spend a sunny afternoon in the Queenstown Gardens if the weather permits - and it's looking like it will."
• The eight-performance season of Greed, Glamour and Grudges - Tales of Gold starts tonight with performances at 6pm and 8pm.
There are also performances at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm tomorrow and Sunday.
Entry is by gold coin donation.
